Breaking Free
by jackandsamforever
Summary: Brennan searches for a way to free Booth from prison. Spoilers for the season finale.


**AN: **So after watching the finale I felt compelled to write my first Bones fic. While I've written a lot for other fandoms, I'm still kind of nervous..so please be gentle..haha.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to Bones.

Brennan stared at the small stick in her hand in mild surprise. Positive. She sat down on the closed toilet lid and let her shoulders slump, then ran a hand through her disheveled hair.

She was tired. So damn tired. For four months she and the team at the Jeffersonian had worked tirelessly to free Booth from prison. She hadn't seen him since they dragged her out of that hospital room so many months ago. They wouldn't let her see him because they stuck him in solitary like a hardened criminal. The FBI refused to see her or take her calls; only telling her that Booth was expected to make a full recovery and that justice would reveal the truth about him and his actions; meaning that they expected him to be convicted. They considered him guilty before proven innocent.

She felt betrayed and alone. Sure she had Angela and Max, but it wasn't the same. She missed her best friend, husband, and partner. Her heart was crushed, and only his return would mend it.

She had been living with Max these past few months, and he had pretty much taken to raising Christine while she spent almost every waking hour at the Jeffersonian trying to find _something _to free Booth with. She felt like a horrible mother, but she rationalized to herself that this was for their daughter's sake too. She needed her daddy, and mommy was the only one that could help him. If she didn't, then Booth was destined to spend the rest of his life in prison. That was not acceptable.

She set the pregnancy test on the counter and put her head in her hands, then thought back to that day three months ago when her life had been upended once again.

_The FBI released her after they interrogated her for hours and got absolutely nothing pertinent from her; she'd been surprised that they hadn't made up some false charge to hold her for another 24 hours. As soon as she slid into her car, she called her team and told them to meet her at her house. She knew she would be able to prove that those men that had been killed were mercenaries, and not FBI agents "delivering a warrant"._

_She walked in their home thirty minutes later and found that someone had already been through and done a thorough "cleaning" of the crime scene. She fought back her tears as she stood in the doorway of their now tarnished and corrupt home and just stared at the wreckage. The bodies were gone, the blood was cleaned up, and all the bullet slugs had been dug out of every surface; but their belongings were still strewn about and destroyed. That had been why they kept her at the FBI for so long, because whomever was behind this conspiracy knew they would've been caught if the crime scene wasn't sanitized. _

_That's when the betrayal had burned deepest in her gut. Angela walked up behind her and wrapped her in a hug, then mumbled words to her that Brennan didn't understand; everything seemed far away and muffled. She watched as the rest of the team shuffled in and tried to find any evidence that might've been missed, but of course in the end they found nothing. She'd been upset about Booth's arrest, but now she was beyond rationalizing any of it. Someone had to pay; and it was her job, and her job alone to find that person._

_That night she had vowed to take down the bastard that was trying to ruin their lives._

OOOOOO

Brennan straightened when a knock startled her from her thoughts. "Tempe, are you ok?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. She knew Max was worried about her, but she was tired of his hovering. "Fine, Dad..I'm Fine. Just..give me a few minutes and I'll be out."

She heard him clear his throat, then lean a little closer to the door as he said, "Christine misses her mommy. She's hardly seen you this week."

That was a low blow, but she knew she deserved it. "Dad", she said in exasperation, "I'll be out in a minute." She wasn't going to rise to the bait, she was too tired for that. She heard his footsteps disappear down the hall, then let herself sink back into her thoughts.

She'd been tired for months and had suspected she was pregnant, but she'd refused to admit it to herself. Not while Booth was gone. She had too much work to do to dwell on it, and it's not like she could celebrate it with Booth. Everything seemed dull and off-color without him around. She knew she should feel something, but all she felt these days was the same betrayal from that night. That's what kept her going. That's what kept her up 18 hours a day. That's what kept her from their beautiful daughter.

She pushed back the sting of tears and heaved a sigh. It was time to face her dad again and try to come up with some more excuses as to why she wasn't eating and why she looked tired all the time. He couldn't know about her pregnancy; Booth had to be the first person to learn about it. That's the least she could give him.

She'd been lucky and hadn't had any morning sickness. That would have immediately given it away to Angela and Max, but they seemed none the wiser, so she continued to work herself into exhaustion; only eating and sleeping when she absolutely had to. She had also began to wear loose clothing and jackets to hide her small, rounded belly. Luckily she wasn't showing much yet, and hoped that she would have Booth back by the time she couldn't hide it anymore.

She also finally admitted to herself that the way she was going wasn't safe for the baby, but she couldn't bring herself to cut back and take a break. She rationalized that women in other cultures and tribes worked much harder than she did and usually came out alright in the end. At least, that's what she would tell herself when her lower back ached and her eyes felt like sandpaper.

OOOOOO

Brennan stood up with a quiet groan and buried the test in the garbage can next to the toilet. She walked out of the cramped bathroom and made her way to the living room where she could see Max sitting on an old worn leather couch with Christine reading a book. She stopped in the doorway and smiled at the sight. Her dad had been a lifesaver, but she was too proud to admit that at the moment.

Christine looked up and gave Brennan a huge smile in greeting, then climbed down from the couch and ran over to her and clutched her legs tightly. "I miss you so much, mommy. Do you have to go again?"

Brennan fought back a sob and ran her hand through her daughter's soft hair. "You know I have to go because I have to help daddy. I already explained it to you, Christine."

She heard a muffled sniffle, then her small voice. "I know. I miss daddy so much. When is he going to come home?"

Brennan closed her eyes and tried not to become angry with the little girl's questions. Brennan had already explained the situation many times, but she still asked every time she saw her mom. "Soon baby, soon." She reached down and picked the little girl up, then hugged her tightly to her chest. She missed Christine so much, and it became harder and harder to leave her behind each morning.

Christine buried her face in Brennan's neck and sniffled again. "I want daddy," she said quietly. Brennan rubbed her hand up and down her back and whispered in the girl's ear, "Me too, Christine."

They stood like that for another few moments until she heard the shrill ringing of her phone in her pocket. She adjusted Christine to one side, then pulled her phone out with her free hand and answered it. "Brennan."

Angela's excited voice came through the phone loudly, "Hon, you've got to get down here. I think we've found a way to free Booth."

She sounded hopeful, and Brennan could only let out a strangled, "How?"

"I've finally decoded the memory chip. All of it. There's enough to get him out, I'm sure of it. I've already sent it to Caroline and she's working on getting him released as we speak."

Brennan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This had to be the break that they'd been searching for. Every other avenue had hit a dead-end.

"Brennan?"

Brennan quickly put the phone between her shoulder and ear, then wiped an escaped tear away impatiently. "I'll be there shortly." Then she pulled the phone away and ended the call without another word.

She looked up to see Max looking at her with raised eyebrows. Brennan gave him a little smile, then said simply, "Angela thinks she can get Booth out of prison."

Max stood up with a wide smile. "Tempe, that's great news!" He walked over and wrapped them both in a huge hug.

Brennan allowed herself to be comforted for a few minutes, then pulled away. She wasn't going to let herself get her hopes up too high. "I need to get down there, now."

Max nodded in understanding then took Christine from her and said, "Go. We'll be fine."

She nodded in thanks, then hurried upstairs to make herself look presentable. She might finally get to see Booth and she wanted to look like she wasn't beyond exhausted.

OOOOOO

Brennan strode into the lab and into Angela's office right away. Before Angela could say anything, Brennan approached her and said, "What's going on? Have you heard from Caroline?"

Angela smiled and shook her head. "No, not since she took the evidence to a judge. She's probably still in the meeting."

Angela turned back to the screen that was running through digital page after digital page of information.

"What are you doing, Angela?"

She pushed a few buttons on her remote and grimaced. "I'm trying to sort all this data so that it makes sense. There's a massive amount, and it's hard to make heads or tails of it." Brennan didn't care about any of that. She only cared about what was going to free Booth.

"What did you find that's going to help Booth?"

Angela glanced at her friend and could see that she was tense and worried. At least it wasn't the apathy she'd seen over the last few months.

"I came across some documents pertaining to the three men that you and Booth killed in your house. As you know, Cam finally figured out who they were after working backwards to identify them. The documents in this chip are offers for the men to become mercenaries to take out high-level targets. The men were disgraced and sanctioned military officers that should have been in jail. While we still don't know who gave the order to kill Booth, we know that these men were sent to kill him. It should be enough to free him."

Brennan let out a relieved sigh and opened her mouth to say something, but the phone began to ring. Angela pushed a button on her remote to answer it through the computer. "Caroline?"

"It's me cherie, and I have good news."

Brennan spoke up before Angela could say anything. "Has Booth been cleared?"

"Well hello, Dr. Brennan." She paused for a moment, then said, "Yes. He's been cleared. He should be out within the hour. The judge simply couldn't refuse after I presented him with all the evidence. The decision was made quickly after that."

Angela smiled. "That's great news, Caroline! Thank you." Brennan seemed to be incapable of words. Which was a first.

You're welcome, cherie..and Dr. Brennan, I'm assuming you want to go meet him at the prison?"

Brennan swallowed noisily, then said quietly, "Yes. I'll be there." She didn't listen to anything else that was said between the two women because the only thing she could hear in her mind was: Booth's free, Booth's free, Booth's free.

She was shaken from her thoughts by Angela's hand on her shoulder. "Hon, are you going to be ok?"

Brennan blinked, then cleared her throat. "Of course. I'm going to go over now. I'll let you know what happens."

She turned to walk away as Angela squeezed her shoulder in farewell, but she stopped before leaving the room completely and turned back to Angela with a smile. "Thank you, Angela."

Angela nodded and wiped the tears that were threatening to escape out of her eyes. "Anytime. Now go see your husband. I'll tell everyone else the good news."

Brennan gave her another soft smile then walked out the door without another word.

OOOOOO

Brennan pulled in the parking lot of the _Washington Corrections Center_ and took a deep breath. She was more nervous than she'd like to admit. It was just her husband. "_Whom you haven't seen in four months," _she thought.

She didn't know if he was going to be different. She couldn't imagine that he would be the same person after how he'd been treated. She just had to hope for the best, which wasn't something that she liked to do. She liked facts.

She slid out of the car and flattened her hands against her shirt as she walked. She still had a jacket on, and she was curious if Booth would notice her pregnancy right away. She walked in the front doors and immediately saw Booth sitting in the waiting room dressed in dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt with his head in his hands. There was no one else around.

He looked like he'd lost weight, and his skin had lost its bronzed tone; but he was still Booth, and he was a sight for sore eyes. She cleared her throat and waited for him to look up. When he finally did, a huge smile stole over his face. "Bones," he said quietly, almost reverently.

He stood up and they met halfway in a bone-crushing hug. She buried her face in his neck as he ran his hands through her hair and down her back. He kissed the shell of her ear softly, then said quietly, "I've missed you so much."

She nodded and kissed his neck. "Christine and I have missed you too, Booth." She tried to force her tears back once again, but they were too much for her to handle and she let them fall without resistance. He pulled back and cupped her face with his hands, then wiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Don't cry over me, huh? It's ok, Temperance..I'M ok."

She closed her eyes. He rarely called her by her real name, but it meant all that much more when he did. He pulled one of his hands off her face and trailed it down her body slowly. It finally landed on the swell of her belly; she knew he would have noticed right away.

She opened her eyes to see him looking at her with tears in his own eyes. "Are you really?"

A small laugh burst out of her and she nodded. "I just took the test today."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It started out soft, but as she responded, it became all tongues and teeth. She wanted to rediscover every inch of his mouth again. He pulled back after a few moments and grinned.

"That's the best news I've heard in months."

She knew that they had their work cut out for them in the months to come. They still needed to figure out who was behind all the blackmail and murder. She didn't think Booth would want to go back to the FBI, but he was a patriot and he believed in the government, so there was a chance that he would go back. She would support him in whatever he chose to do as long as they were allowed to work together. That's all that mattered to her.

**AN: **So I hope this wasn't too terrible. I'm so sorry if it was. I would love to hear your thoughts about it..good or bad..so please let me know what you think. :) Thanks for reading.


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